How your health information is used, and your rights.

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Grafton Smiles ("we," "our," "the practice"), located at 82 Worcester St Unit C, North Grafton, MA 01536, may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment and health care operations, and for other purposes permitted or required by law, and it describes your rights regarding your health information. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, to provide you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, to notify you following a breach of unsecured PHI, and to abide by the terms of the notice currently in effect. Effective date: October 2, 2026. Privacy contact: the Privacy Officer, Grafton Smiles, (508) 839-6464.

For treatment. We use your health information to provide your dental care and may disclose it to other health professionals involved in your care, for example a root canal specialist, oral surgeon or laboratory working on your case, or your physician when your medical conditions bear on your dental treatment.

For payment. We may use and disclose your information to bill and collect payment for services, including verifying benefits with your dental plan, submitting claims, and responding to your insurer's requests for records that support a claim.

For health care operations. We may use and disclose your information to run the practice: quality review, training, scheduling, appointment reminders by phone, text or email, and contacting you about treatment alternatives or services relevant to your care. You may ask us to use a specific phone number or address for these contacts.

Other permitted or required disclosures. As permitted or required by law, we may use or disclose your information: when required by federal, state or local law; for public health activities; to report suspected abuse or neglect as required by law; for health oversight activities such as audits and licensure; in response to court orders, subpoenas or other lawful process; to law enforcement in limited circumstances defined by law; to coroners, medical examiners or funeral directors; to avert a serious and imminent threat to health or safety; for workers' compensation as authorized by law; and for specialized government functions defined by law.

People involved in your care. Unless you object, we may share information relevant to a family member's or friend's involvement in your care or payment for it, for example discussing a child's treatment with a parent, or an appliance repair with the spouse who dropped it off.

Uses requiring your written authorization. Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes (which dental practices rarely hold), uses for marketing purposes, and any sale of your health information require your written authorization, and other uses not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted on it. We will never sell your health information. Before-and-after photographs are shared on our website or materials only with your separate written photo consent, which you may withdraw.

Right to access. You may inspect and obtain a copy of your dental record, including an electronic copy where we maintain it electronically, generally within thirty days of your written request; a reasonable cost-based fee may apply to copies.

Right to amend. If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request an amendment in writing with your reasons. We may deny the request in certain cases, and you may then submit a statement of disagreement that will be kept with the record.

Right to an accounting of disclosures. You may request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your information, generally covering up to the six years before your request and excluding disclosures for treatment, payment and operations and certain others defined by law.

Right to request restrictions. You may request restrictions on how we use or disclose your information for treatment, payment or operations. We are not required to agree to every restriction, but we must agree to your request to restrict disclosure to your health plan of a service you paid for in full out of pocket, where the disclosure would be for payment or operations and is not otherwise required by law.

Right to confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a specific location, for example only on a mobile number or only by mail, and we will accommodate reasonable requests without asking why.

Right to a paper copy. You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time at the front desk, even if you agreed to receive it electronically, and the current notice is always posted at our office and on this page.

Right to breach notification. We will notify you as required by law following any breach of your unsecured protected health information.

Substance use disorder treatment records (42 CFR Part 2). If our records include information identifying you as receiving substance use disorder treatment from a Part 2 program, that information carries heightened federal protection: it generally may not be used or disclosed, including in legal proceedings against you, without your specific written consent or as otherwise expressly permitted by 42 CFR Part 2, and it is protected from use in criminal, civil or administrative investigations or proceedings against you absent a court order meeting Part 2's requirements or your consent.

Massachusetts protections. In addition to your federal rights, Massachusetts law applies to your records and information: dental records are retained for the period required by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry's regulations, breaches of personal information are handled under the Massachusetts data security and breach notification laws (M.G.L. c. 93H), and you may direct complaints about our handling of your information to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry as well as to the federal Office for Civil Rights described below.

If you have questions about this notice or believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the practice by contacting our Privacy Officer at (508) 839-6464, or by mail to Grafton Smiles, 82 Worcester St Unit C, North Grafton, MA 01536, or by phone at (508) 839-6464. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights: 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, phone 1-800-368-1019 (TDD 1-800-537-7697), or online through the OCR complaint portal at hhs.gov/ocr/complaints. You will never be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised notice effective for information we already hold as well as information we receive in the future; the current notice is posted at the office and on this page with its effective date, and material revisions will be available on request and at your next visit.